Falling Angel
by VeggieTales Gal
Summary: Losing one's halo and wings... Excrutiating is one word to describe the pain that that one endures. Rated T for some gore and trauma.


Falling Angel

_It all happened so quickly._

_Phoenix had delivered the final benevolessence to Yggdrasil, the Great World Tree. It was a momentous occasion. The Celestrians would finally be able to return to the Realm of the Almighty, something they had been working towards for countless centuries, millennia even. "_What a great honour it is to be the final individual to deliver the mystical crystals to the Tree,_" Phoenix had thought. "_Perhaps Master Aquila will cease to worry for me._"_

_Those were her last thoughts before the tragedy. Just as the iridescent Starflight Express was making tracks towards the Observatory, a great beam of evil energy shot from the Protectorate, destroying the holy train. As the Express fell, the beams continued to wreak havoc on the Observatory, tearing it apart. In the chaos, there were many terrible cries of despair from the Celestrians, wondering if they had been deceived. One of these was Apus Major, the Observatory's elder._

_The tremors sent Phoenix flying. She couldn't find the stabilization she needed to save herself from falling. All the fledgling could do was cry for help, although her voice had almost deserted her. Tears of fear streamed from her angelic face as she called for Aquila, who had been like a father to her. However, it was too late. Phoenix lost her hold on the edge, and screamed as she reached for her teacher's outstretched arm._

_By this time, the angel had lost all control of her body. She had no choice but to fall, ever fearing that a beam of energy would hit her and destroy her. Phoenix cursed fate and salvation as she fell. Everything that the Celestrians had ever believed seemed to be a cruel practical joke. All of their labours had yielded no fruit. Their existence had been completely pointless and a massive waste of time. What was the point anymore?_

_Phoenix's tears never ceased as she fell. She felt so horribly betrayed. Betrayed by the Almighty, betrayed by the Tree, betrayed by the mortals, and betrayed by her existence. And, yet, she couldn't find any need for revenge in her heart, no matter how hard she searched for it. And everywhere her eyes looked, she could only see white feathers. White feathers from her wings, cruelly being ripped away. She felt a stinging sensation stemming from the appendages, and, as more feathers tore off, the sensation grew until it was an unbearable throbbing._

_Something was ripped from her head, and the girl suddenly felt drained of all energy. She was barely able to reach above her head to feel what was missing, she was so weak. Phoenix used most of what little energy she had left by letting out a terrible cry of anguish when she realized what had been taken. It was the source of all of her holy energy; one of the characteristics that made her a Celestrian. The wind had stolen her halo. She gnashed and bit her knuckles in wholehearted misery as her descent continued._

_All of her feathers were gone, swirling above and around her. Phoenix felt so cold and bare, and the naked wings were quickly turning blue from the force of the cold wind and the lack of the ability to circulate the girl's holy blood. The thin wing slowly became number and number, until their owner couldn't feel them anymore. Through this trauma, she still cried, despite deep exhaustion._

_Phoenix used the very last of her energy to scream in agony. The joints that held her wings to her shoulder blades, along with the flesh surrounding them, were broken and ripped as a result of the force, speed, and gravity of the fall. Every move she made brought unspeakable anguish that her body refused to relieve her of. All Phoenix wanted was to fall unconscious, to be delivered from this torture. But, she was too exhausted to fall asleep. By now, she was covered in blood and on an unchangeable crash course to a waterfall._

_The wings were ripped away at long last, bringing the most pain of all. However, no sound left Phoenix's lips. She thrashed about feebly, hoping the pain she was bringing upon herself would neutralize the pain of the injury. Her movements only made it worse. The Celestrian's heart broke in two when a realization hit her. She had lost her halo and her wings. She was no longer a Celestrian. She was a mortal. Blood and tears soaked her clothes, the only reminder of what she used to be. Was she doomed to stay like this forever?_

_With her body broken and her energy leached, there was little hope for her survival. If she landed on ground, which she was a hair's breadth away from, she would surely die. "_Master Aquila… Apus Major… Everyone… I have failed you… I am sorry… I am sorry…!_" And, with that last thought, she lost consciousness and fell into a deep sleep. With a great SPLASH, Phoenix's fall was broken in the waterfall of Angel Falls, the village she was Guardian of._

I awakened with a great shriek, waking my friends. I could feel the pain in my shoulder blades with great clarity. The pain was so horrible, I began to weep. "Phoenix?" asked Dorothea, my Gleeban warrior friend. "What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?" I wept more loudly, remembering the horribleness of my ordeal. "It was… It was so horrible… It was so horrible…!" I cried, thrashing about. "The pain… The pain… I feel it still… I remember now… I remember what happened… The pain…! I-It was unbearable…!"

"What's going on?" asked Martin, my mage friend from Bloomingdale. "What happened in your dream?" Katrin, Martin's priestly sister, silently sat next to me, wrapping me in an embrace. I hugged the kind girl, crying into her shoulder, unable to form words. My faerie friend, Stella, attempted to coax words out of me by threatening me to tell everyone what was wrong. Normally, I would have laughed, but, in my mind, I was still falling from the sky.

I did not know how I was going to tell my companions my secret. I had always assumed that they either would not believe me, or they would be terrified of me. However… I had no choice. They were all making assumptions. "Maybe she was a slave, or abused..." "Was she a soldier who was captured and tortured?" "No, she was definitely part of a cult that required blood offerings!" It was natural that they would make such assumptions. They all believed I was human with maybe a little faerie blood, which was the story I had made up and stuck to since I landed in Angel Falls.

"I… suppose it is time… to tell you the truth," I warbled quietly, drying my tears. "You will not believe me, I can assure you of that. But, it is the truth." I recounted my tale to my friends, awaiting their reactions. I cried again as I told them about my fall, not noticing how Martin welled up when I talked about my wings. I was bawling by the time I finished my story.

"I always knew you were a Celestrian, Phoenix," said Katrin. I looked at her in shock. "We priests see things that others don't. I knew that you were lying when you said that you were human. I just couldn't figure out why. Then, I noticed that you talk to yourself sometimes as if you're talking to someone else. That's when I realized what you really are. I just didn't tell anyone." I gaped at her with tears stuck in my eyes. My face twisted again and my lip quivered, signifying more tears. My whole party approached me and kissed me; Dorothea kissed my cheek, Katrin kissed my forehead, and Martin kissed my lips.

"I regret to inform you," said Martin, "that I had no idea. But, I believe you. It all makes perfect sense now. You're always so mysterious, and now I know why. Plus, your style of speech!" Martin took my hand in both of his. "It's OK… We're all here for you now. You've been through so much on your own. But, you don't have to be alone anymore. We'll all be right here from now on." I gently embraced the man. "Thank you so much…" I replied. "I am so happy I have all of you."

When morning came, the four of us journeyed to Stornway. I needed to speak to Erinn, who had told everyone, myself included, that I had survived the fall with only a few bumps and bruises, which could not possibly have been true. She told us the truth of my injuries, but also told us that I had recovered impossibly quickly, something she did not understand. The rest of us did, though.

In the months to follow, I would have that dream again several times. Each time, my friends were there to help me through the trauma that followed. I could not be more grateful for their love and acceptance. They continued to treat me as an equal, not as a holy being; something that I had hoped for since I met them. I could truly be myself around them without being afraid. They have been so wonderful to me.

I no longer have to feel the pain alone.


End file.
